MCCALL, JOHN DODD

MCCALL, JOHN DODD (1846–1909). John Dodd McCall, soldier, civil servant, and politician, was born in Paris, Henry County, Tennessee, on August 9, 1846, the son of Dr. J. R. and America P. (Cooke) McCall. In 1853 the family moved to Travis County, Texas. McCall attended schools in Austin and later in Waco, but the death of his father in 1866 made him responsible for the maintenance of his family and abbreviated his academic career. In January 1865 he enlisted as a private in Maj. Thomas C. Cater's Texas Cavalry battalion and saw action at the battle of Palmito Ranch, the last land battle of the Civil War. After the breakup of the Confederacy, McCall was appointed doorkeeper of the Senate of the Tenth Legislature and, later in 1865, clerk for Texas secretary of state R. J. Downs. In 1871, although an ardent Democrat, McCall was appointed warrant clerk in the state comptroller's office under Albert A. Bledsoe and pension clerk when Steven H. Dardenqv was elected comptroller in 1874. McCall served as a clerk under comptroller William M. Brownqv from 1880 until 1883, when he was named chief clerk by William Jesse Swain. McCall was elected comptroller in 1885 and served for four terms. After living in San Antonio for two years he returned to Austin, where he was elected mayor in 1897; he served two terms. He later ran unsuccessfully for governor. In 1903 he was president of the Austin Fire Insurance Company. He suffered a paralytic stroke in 1906 and died in Austin on June 21, 1909. He was a Mason, a Knight of Pythias, a Disciple of Christ, and a lifelong bachelor.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Austin American-Statesman, June 22, 1909. Dallas Herald, February 14, 1874, October 8, 1885. Lewis E. Daniell, Personnel of the Texas State Government, with Sketches of Representative Men of Texas (Austin: City Printing, 1887; 3d ed., San Antonio: Maverick, 1892).